Rotten Apples - 17. Michael Smith & The Black Cat

Chapter 17:

~Micheal Smith & The Black Cat~

The thought of Sascha being in love with Jesse Bradford haunted my every footstep the entire Uber ride home from me visiting Sascha Konovski’s house for the very first time. It was a comedy… I mean, right? Sascha LOVED JESSE?!!! He loved the kid that brutally beat me, hurts others, & tortures me for a living more than a full time job could ever reward him for?

“WHAHH?!” I blurted out “Why?” in my sharp southern accent. Oops.

“HUH??? Arrr’ you okehh?” Hmm. Looks like I’m not the only one with an accent, today. GOOD. My Uber driver seemed concerned as he peered at me through his thick glasses curiously for a few moments after my random and unexpected physical and vocal outburst from my thought process hurricane. UGHH. This was just TOO MUCH for me, today. I want to go home! I wana…. I wana see my kitty. I wana see my mom. I want to go home. In fact, I want to go to my REAAAALLL home- Georgia where Billy Decker belongs… I thought as I scowled out the window.

“I’m faaa’n. I’m okay.” I huffed in an immature teenage tone like a child would if you told him he couldn’t have anymore candy for the rest of the day on Halloween. Don’t even get me started on remembering THAT soap opera of a day, either.

—————

*RINNGGGG RINGGGG*

I couldn’t even wait. I ignored my family’s greeting to me from getting home and muttered a quick and sweetly created fake “Hahh guys!” As I darted to my room. I was calling Sascha. It was like an itch I couldn’t stand but scratch that bothered me that entire UBER ride home.

“Hello?” He answered in his slightly immature teenage voice that was bound to break, from it’s tone, within the next year, eventually.

“Wahh?” I asked.

“Huh?” He asked me. Ohhhh, I forgot some words of mine are misunderstood here so I have to usually put them in a full DESCRIPTIVE sentence just so people understand anything I’m saying especially kids my age and in school.

“Wahh’ you even love Jesse???” I paused…. Woah. Calm down, Billy. “Ahh’ mean, he ain’t ever been nice to nobody ever since I ever saw him. He’s mean. He hurt me lots. And you ain’t never even thought maybe he ain’t good to be with? Wahh’ even CARE about that gahh?”

“Uhm. Billy. Can’t we talk about this in person or-“ he said.

“No, I ain’t WAIT’N’ for yuhh, none.” I blurted.

He said nothing at first. Then I said “Yello?”

“Hehehe.” He said.

“Billy….. I never heard you this mad before except on Halloween.” He paused. “It’s kinda cute and hot.” He said playfully & seductively.

Why? Why was it so easy for Sascha to make me blush and smile a little grin of my own. Awww that was kind of sweet.

“Billy. It’s a long story. We met years ago. I think I was like 8. I can tell you the deets later if you like.” He said in a strange almost (Nothing bothers me ever because I’m an amazing supermodel teenager) tone. Maybe, because he was.

“Yeah…. Oh and if he’s so rich, what he even GO to our school for? Whahh’ not go to some fancy school for upper hill folk?” I asked, finally placing my thoughts into words out loud for the very first time.

“Beeeeecausee his grades suck.” He said almost as if I should know that.

I paused for a moment before following with, “Then, how come YOU even go to our school, then??”

“Beeeeecausee my grades suck.” He repeated in the exact same tone.

Silence filled the call and, then, we both erupted into laughter of our own at my own emotional arousal and his plain, dry responses which were dead honest yet comical in their simple delivery. Aww there was something about me and Sacha’s relationship and him as a person that I just loved so much. Even though I was, without me realizing it, suffering from my own PTSD of Jesse and them, he made me feel better. Sascha was like…. Donny at this point, but, in his strange bad boyish way…. He numbed me.

After he had hung up and finished our call, I took note of my cat getting into some mischief on my bedroom floor with a paper plate.

”Mee-Mee! Nooo!!!” Ugh!!! This cat sometimes just looks for something to do that makes no sense. I had to wrestle with my little Kitty some pieces of Pizza she had nabbed from my dinner in my room! Rarely, I was allowed to eat in my room. But, if it was finger food like pizza that wouldn’t leave much of a mess, according to my mother, I was allowed.

“Meow…” she said after I took the pizza away from her.

“Bad, Mee-Mee…. No pizza. No cheese.” I said concerned as I rubbed her little furry head.

”Purrrrrrr.” She said in loving response to my tanned hand’s touch. Yeah you purr all you want little cat. Stop stealing my things…

———-

The next day right after school and I was already beginning my walk home, I got a surprise call…. It was Sascha. Huh? He never calls me. Hmm.

”Yello?”

“~hghm hem.” I heard on his line. It sounded like muffling at first.

”yellooooo?” I asked a bit louder.

”Heyy… uh Billy?” I heard my ‘Anti-best friend’ ask.

”Yea? Sascha?” I asked.

”You uhhh. You busy right now?”

“Me? Nah, I just makin’ mah way down town home. Wahh?” I asked as I crossed the street and the crossing guard allowed me to pass.

”Can you meet me somewhere? There’s… there’s something I wana show you.” He said.

‘Eww’ my mind thought without actually thinking it. At this time of the day, most of the time, I just want to go home and not see any humans for at least 6 hours. I was already socially drained for the day, especially being in school for 8 hours and then having gym class. I hate that stupid class even though I’m technically the fastest runner in school and a potentially really good athlete with agility.

An introvert like me just naturally doesn’t like socializing after we’re already drained… it’s like…. clapping erasers during detention, you know? “Sigh….” I sighed. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was already beginning to morph and transform myself from a child into an official full on young teenager. My patience sometimes would whither, my tolerance wasn’t as high as it used to be, and my sex drive… well… let’s just say things got boosted a lot more than ever in just the last 2 months of my life. I had JUST turned 14 after all. It was natural. I didn’t even mean to sigh out loud but Sascha clearly heard it.

”Awwww, c’mon man. Don’t be a scruff.” He responded.

A Scruff? I won’t even ask. “Yeah okay. Where you’re want me to meet you at?” I asked, much to my little Southern chagrin.

”Victor’s Pizza.” He replied. That was the town’s most popular pizza joint. It was a brick oven pizzeria and restaurant with nice tables and a fireplace looking oven which cooked all the pizza and other baked goods behind the register. I always thought that place looked so neat.

“Okay…. I’m a few blocks away.” I said. I had never actually made my way inside of the place. I only occasionally walked passed it with Donny during some of our town strolls exploring our new home.

———-

**Ring Ring**

I heard the door sound as I walked inside. However, upon entering, I realized it was dead inside and only 20% of the lights were on. I assumed they were for some reason, closed. Hmm. Why would Sascha have me meet him here? How’d he even get in here? “Hello?” I asked.

I walked all the way up to the front of the register. For some reason, being in there all by myself with the lights basically all turned off and no one around creeped me out. However, as I walked to the counter I saw my friend.

Sascha was glued to his phone while sitting slumped on a chair behind the counter. Hehe, for some reason, seeing Sascha when no one was around was kind of cute to me. He lost some of that perfect “super model boy” god like charm of his. He almost looked like he had, I don’t know, ‘no class.’ He was slumped so much in his chair, that he almost looked like he could fall off at any moment if someone wouldn’t eventually prop him back up. Why was he here?? How’d he even get in here? Why is he behind the counter?

”Haa’.” I said in my Billy way of talking. He looked up.

”Hey….” He said nonchalantly and then, looked right back down at his phone. Okayyy.

After a while of me standing there he asking me- “You gonna just stand there or come around?”

“Oh. Sorry.” I wasn’t sorry. How was I supposed to know I was even allowed back there. He let me in to the back and then led me to the back office of the place. What the heck! Why were we even here?

“Hey man, I put that stuff away and….” He stopped dead in his tracks and my eyes widened. Michael Smith had just entered the same room as Sascha and I. Oh my god. I wish anyone could have seen me just at that moment. I froze. He looked at me and then, looked at Sascha. They both gave this silent little look at one another and, then smiled to slowly look at me. Uhhhhh.

Micheal Smith…the ‘3rd dimension’ to my bullying trinity which has haunted me since my very first day of school put his towel he was drying his hands with and then walked up to me. He…. Was grinning almost in a sneaky manor as though he was about to steal cookies from a forbidden and cursed cookie jar.

Why would Sascha take me here? I gulped. What was Michael doing here? What was Sascha doing here? What was IIIIII doing here???!

I, then, saw Michael walk up to Sascha and give him just a casual little peck on the cheek. “Lemme’ just wrap this up.” He said and then walked back out. I never curse. But, my mind literally thought ‘What the fu++?”

Sascha, then, looked at me and then blushed a shy little smile as he looked down. Wait. Were he and Micheal Smith both, like, gay? Wait!!! Were they…. Both together? Are they each other’s boyfriends? WOAH!!! For some reason, it made me blush so hard.

Come to think of it, whenever I saw them both with one another out of school, besides Jesse beating me, they were both always alone with one another either smoking cigarettes or whatever other mischief they decided to do for the day.

Micheal walked back in, set his things down on the desk, and then looked at me as he took a little deep breath. My immature mind couldn’t stop me. I blurted extreme loudly “- “AHH’ thought you SAID TO NEVER TELL NOBODY WE FRAYANSSS!!” I said to Sascha. What’s going on here?

Sascha giggled. “Relax, Billy. Mikey’s nobody.”

*Gasp* “You peice of sh++” Micheal said and sort of poked at him as they both giggled. My gosh. They were both so flirty with one another. Very touchy. Very smiley. Just so DIFFERENT from how I always saw them out in public.

“You both boyfrayanns???” I asked lacking my mental filter, once again.

They, then, stared at me with wide eyes. Okay, that was a bit forward, Billy. I didn’t mean to make them feel uncomfortable or anything.

Sascha looked at him then smiled at me his little mischievous grin and said “Welll… not exaaaaaaactly. We’re just gooooood friends.”

”Mmhmm. We just… do things that’s all.” Micheal said.

Huh? What’s going on here? “What things?” I asked, innocently.

Sascha then looked at me how he always does when he thinks I’m being stupid and should know better- “You know…. Have sex?” In like a ‘duh’ manor.

”Oh.” I responded. “Wait so all you is GAY? you, Liam, Jesse…”

”Woah woah woah… you ever tell Jesse or anyone about any of this and I’ll personally kill you, myself.” Mikey said.

Sascha informed me finally the harsh reality of their group- “Billy, Jesse’s the only straight one. We’re all gay… he just never knew that.” They both then started LAUGHING at that.

Wow. Jesse Bradford thought he controlled his 2(once 3) friends. But, he didn’t. They secretly met up with one another and actually controlled him behind his back. Even though Sascha and Michael were afraid of Jesse beating them or hurting them, they knew how to hide around him.

Micheal then walked up to me and examined me scanning me up and down as he got just 1 foot away from me. “Damn…. He really is cute, babe.” Babe? He calls Sascha babe? Cute? I’m cute to MICHAEL? WHATTTTTT?!!!!!

“I know right…” Sascha said just casually and flirtatiously.

I just looked at Micheal eye me as he grinned a little bit. I won’t lie, having him eye me up and down like that, even though he was always so mean to me, made me blush and smile myself for some foreign and strange teenage hormonal reason. “Uhh… thank yuu.”

I, then, stopped my thought process as I stared into nothing as Micheal approached me a bit more. It was strange to me. It was strange to me that Mee-Mee just so happened to decide to snag and nibble a bit of my pizza last night that I rarely even eat mind you, let alone bring to my bedroom. And, now I was with Michael Smith, of all the people in the Universe, at a pizza place the very next day??. It’s almost as if that cat was trying to show me something…